PGA Open

If you’re reading this story and have a of bit déjà vu from previous story on this column, you’re probably not the only one. Tiger Woods captured major championship #12 this Sunday after dominating the field at the PGA Open. We talked about how Tiger overcame major obstacles to win the British Open and since he has won again, we’ll talk about it again.
It was yet another pristine afternoon. A beautiful golf course at Medinah, Illinois, a warm sunny day and Woods dominating yet another tournament all while wearing the traditional red polo. The first two days were very close, to no one’s great surprise. Many players all within several strokes of each other including the big names: Luke Donald, Jeff Ogilvy, Mike Weir, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Chris DiMarco to name but a few. Through the first part of Saturday the competition remained close and at one time ten different players shared the lead at eight under. But then came Woods in the afternoon shooting a tournament best 65 to surge to -14 and a tie with Luke Donald. And we all know what happens when Tiger has the lead or is sharing the lead after three rounds. Eleven times he has been in that position at a major and eleven times he has won. It seems to be an interesting phenomenon, a combination of all the other players seemingly knowing its over and Woods playing with a “go for the throat” mentality. Sunday was no different, he was just too good. A month ago he won at Liverpool playing on straight emotion, this time he played with such precision and intelligence that no one could maintain the pace. It was truly a beautiful sight. He knows exactly where he wants to play the ball and he puts it there, its like a machine. And when the dust finally cleared, Woods finished at -18, five strokes ahead of Shaun Micheel at -13.
With Woods now winning his second major in as many attempts this year and his closest rival, Phil Mickelson still hung over from Wingfoot, it will be interesting to see how 2007 turns out. Mickelson had his chance after the Masters not to catch Tiger in majors or the title of being the best player in the game, but to prove that he could win tournament in and tournament out. After losing at the U.S. Open, he had another chance, to prove he could come back after disappointment and still compete. But he failed to impress at the British and the PGA and he seems to be back in the same boat when he couldn’t win his first major.
The question now is how far can Tiger go? No player can stay with him every tournament, there is always someone giving a close chase but it always seems to be someone different. No one can challenge him as the best player of this generation. At 30 years old he is already at major #12, only six away from Jack Nicklaus at 18. The question is not if he’ll pass Jack, but when and by how much. Many people think he’ll hit 25. Some people say he is just now getting into his prime and if plays until he is 50 like he has expressed then 30 might not be all that unrealistic. But more important than asking all these questions, which are fun and is something we will always do, is to sit back and be quiet and enjoy the show. We have been given the opportunity to watch history in the making, enjoy the moment.
So we’ve completed another year of major championship golf. We’ve seen the continued rise and then sudden and dramatic fall of Phil Mickelson, we’ve seen Jeff Ogilvy show that he has the stuff to win majors and we watched Tiger Woods prove to us that he is fact ready to be the greatest of all time. Let us enjoy the rest of the season and then start to countdown the days to Augusta.